Data Backup Digest

Helium-filled hard drives are not exactly new; they've been on the consumer market for several years. They even offer a number of benefits over traditional hard drives in the way of decreased power consumption, lower operating temperatures and less mechanical noise. Such a level of performance is accomplished by filling the drive with helium, which has less density than air. This ultimately results in less turbulence within the drive and increased efficiency across the board.

While the first helium-filled drives were introduced to the public a few years ago, Seagate is revisiting the technology in their newest line of drives. Moreover, they've paired the properties of helium with the enhanced storage capacities seen in modern hard drives. Specifically, Seagate now offers several distinct lines of helium-filled hard drives. Furthermore, all of the drives featured in their latest release boast a storage capacity of 10 TB.

The BarraCuda Pro is meant specifically for desktop computing and typical data usage, but it suffers from the shortcoming of being a disk-based hard drive. With the emphasis being put on solid-state drives as of late, Seagate is also offering the FireCuda line. Although its storage capacity is quite limited, the FireCuda cannot be matched in terms of performance.

Consumers who need to upgrade their home surveillance systems can do so with the SkyHawk line of drives, which are great for digital video recorders and modern security cameras. Supporting up to 64 individual recording devices and round-the-clock operation, the Seagate SkyHawk provides a highly reliable storage platform.

NAS users can benefit from the IronWolf line of helium-filled hard drives. FUlly compatible with RAID systems and other arrays, these drives are ideal for those who want enterprise-level storage space without having to sacrifice performance or drive efficiency.

Matt Rutledge, senior vice president of Seagate's Client and Consumer Storage Division, spoke about the need for increased storage capacities by saying: "Consumers and organizations today face a similar challenge — what to do about the massive deluge of data and video they confront every day. Whether it’s dominating in the latest game, producing compelling multimedia content, mining data to help create new apps and business services, helping to protect people and places around the world against new threats, and more, the Seagate Guardian Series is designed to preserve your most critical data and move it where it’s needed fast so you can make the most of it. By incorporating powerful new features and capabilities, our 10TB products also make it easier for everyone to create, consume and use data."

Although these drives are currently available on the consumer market, they're not cheap. The BarraCuda Pro carries a manufacturer's suggested retail price of just over $500, but this does include a 5-year warranty. The SkyHawk and IronWolf drives only include a 3-year warranty, but they're both available at a MSRP of less than $500. To find out more information about their helium-filled hard drives or any of their other products and solutions, head over to their official website at www.seagate.com.